A California appeals court Wednesday tossed a legal malpractice suit accusing an attorney now employed by Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP of botching a woman’s personal injury case against a school district and its teacher who allegedly molested her as a child, saying the woman’s underlying claim was untimely.

An upstate New York judge accused of bilking a philanthropic family and a D.C. lawyer stuck with a criminal contempt order for refusing to take the stand lead Law360’s The Week In Discipline, which compiles sanctions and conduct charges that may have flown under the radar.

A former King & Spalding LLP attorney told a New York federal judge that evidence the firm had presented last month isn’t enough to defeat his claim under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in his wrongful termination suit.

An ex-Pennsylvania legislative staffer linked to a scandal over the use of taxpayer money to buy campaign-related technology is urging the Third Circuit to upend a conclusion that findings of probable cause barred malicious prosecution claims he'd been pursuing against ex-Gov. Tom Corbett, attorney general at the time.

A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday denied Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC a second chance after a trial finding the law firm was liable for almost $5 million for negligent advice about an acquisition deal, saying the jury's decision was supported by evidence.

A New Jersey state court judge accused of hindering the apprehension of her fugitive boyfriend when he was wanted for armed robbery was absolved of the remaining charges in her indictment Thursday, just as her case was about to go to trial in Superior Court.

A New York Supreme Court judge has disqualified King & Spalding LLP from representing an animal health company in international arbitration, ruling that its past work with the company's adversaries in the case presents a conflict.

A $10,000 contribution was the "going rate" for a job in Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown's office, according to documents filed Tuesday in a case stemming from a government investigation into hiring practices within the office.

A New Jersey state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a state judge’s former boyfriend cannot be compelled to testify at her trial on charges of hindering his apprehension when he was wanted for armed robbery, saying he asserted a legitimate claim of his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Two New York federal judges overseeing criminal cases brought as part of the federal government’s probe into college basketball are looking to stem leaks of documents uncovered during the investigation after media reports in the past week that have revealed a much wider probe.

A female probation officer who has accused a Pennsylvania state judge of forcing her into a sexual relationship hit back Tuesday against the judge’s attempt to have the case thrown out, arguing that the statute of limitations didn’t bar the case because the alleged sexual harassment continued long after the alleged affair ended.

An estate planning associate hit her Manhattan boutique firm and her supervisor with a sex and race bias suit in New York state court Wednesday, claiming the supervisor repeatedly came on to her and cut her hours after she reported him to management.

A former Hoboken, New Jersey, mayor convicted in a bribery scheme was slammed with a lawsuit Monday in state court by a former running mate alleging that the disbarred attorney's fraudulent actions had exposed him to potential fines over purported campaign finance violations.

A California attorney and her law firm are among the slew of defendants that a Los Angeles federal judge put on the hook Tuesday for paying a more than $26.7 million default judgment in favor of over a dozen Chinese nationals who claim they were ripped off in a scam exploiting the EB-5 immigrant investor program.

A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday declined to step down from a suit in which People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claims a Maryland zoo mistreats its animals, rejecting the zoo’s argument that his searching the zoo on the internet and mentioning online reviews during a hearing warrant his disqualification.

A Pennsylvania trial judge said Tuesday that attorney Mark Halpern's pending appeal of a $2.3 million verdict over a purportedly frivolous lawsuit against an ex-Cozen O'Connor partner, among others, barred a second attempt to strike the award based on what he said was newly discovered evidence of perjury by an expert witness in the case.

The Third Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the validity of a New Jersey man’s contract with a litigation funder that enabled him to pursue a legal malpractice suit against Reed Smith LLP, rejecting his argument that it was usurious and therefore not enforceable.

A rival company accusing Bacardi of spying on its chairman and his wife urged a California federal judge Tuesday to require the famed alcohol brand to admit or deny the allegations in its trademark dispute over Bacardi’s “Untameable” campaign.

After nearly six years of litigation, Philadelphia-based Swartz Campbell LLC has reached a settlement with regional rival Chartwell Law Offices LLP over claims that Chartwell illegally poached a slew of its attorneys, obviating the need for a state court trial that was slated to begin Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

Law firms are businesses where partners operate with significant autonomy. To see their priorities translate into individual partner action, firm leaders should use a few collaborative strategies, suggests Hugh A. Simons, former senior partner of The Boston Consulting Group and former COO of Ropes & Gray LLP.

Courts have consistently held that social media accounts are subject to established discovery principles but are reluctant to allow parties to rummage through private social media accounts. Recent case law confirms that narrowly tailored information requests get the best results, say Matthew Hamilton, Donna Fisher and Jessica Bae of Pepper Hamilton LLP.

Jeh Johnson, the former secretary of homeland security, was kind enough to let me visit him to reflect on his diverse career. He told stories that left me speechless. And yes, the man who was responsible for the Transportation Security Administration removed his shoes when going through airport security. You bet I asked, says Randy Maniloff of White and Williams LLP.

Attorneys should follow seven key points to ensure that their discovery requests and pleadings are appropriately prepared to overcome common hurdles that may be encountered when requesting production of a personnel file, say Michael Errera and Paul Ferland of Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff PC.

While Alexander Hamilton is the subject of a hit Broadway musical and renewed biographical examinations, professor Kate Brown takes us down a road less traveled in her book "Alexander Hamilton and the Development of American Law" — showing Hamilton as first, last and foremost an American lawyer, says U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas.

There are at least four reasons supporting the need for some form of a mediation group within a law firm, especially in firms with larger practices, according to Dennis Klein, owner of Critical Matter Mediation and former litigation partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.

All signs point to the U.S. Department of Justice enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act more aggressively. In addition, multiple pending legislative proposals would strengthen FARA and expand the DOJ’s enforcement powers, says Brian Fleming, a member of Miller & Chevalier Chtd. and former counsel to the assistant attorney general for national security at the DOJ.

Defending depositions is challenging. The lawyer is the only shield and protector for the witness and the client. The rules of engagement are less than clear, and fraught with ethical perils. Difficult judgment calls often must be made in the heat of battle. This is where lawyers really earn their keep, says Alan Hoffman of Husch Blackwell LLP.

There is a difference between a lawyer or investigator seeking evidence to defend against allegations and correct misrepresentations, and, on the other hand, using duplicitous means to gather information and intimidate alleged victims and journalists. Client advocacy does not mean winning at all costs, says Nicole Kardell of Ifrah Law PLLC.